The Official Website for the Theory and Practice of Kevin Behan's Natural Dog Training

Making Traits On Demand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZeJ96xjtg

Once a dog is able to become the object of attraction then it can make a trait on demand in order to complement the object of its attraction. This is the first instance of the sable GSD being able to handle the intense pressure of a male dog of high resistance value and allowing this energy to reflect back onto him and travel via his subliminal beam to the deep gut. Because he is the object of attraction, this triggers physical memories of infancy, and so the preyful action patterns come up in what is characteristically termed by the mainstream as “play solicitation.” Hopefully this commentary can provide an alternative, energetic interpretation in a way that can be visualized. The tension in both dogs is being salved by the feeling of motion, and due to the principle of emotional conductivity, the emotional battery and the laws of motion, they are becoming each others’ mirror. This then makes possible the ping/pong process of elaboration so that more and more energy can course through the one group mind that the two dogs are composing so that ultimately, aggression becomes impossible. In the interim, until we get to that state, my role isn’t to control the dogs but to facilitate the process and here and there by serving as a “guardrail” so to speak in order to keep their collective motion stays on the pathway of elaboration. I should also note that my role is compromised by holding a camera and I’m not able to do some buffering tricks in the background. But the dog’s emotional capacity is high enough to accommodate these limitations and given that dogs are social by the laws of nature, it’s the law that they will ultimately be able to get along no-matter-what.

9 Responses to “Making Traits On Demand”

Yes, the point I’m trying to make is that the goal is for the dog to come up with all the right moves on its own, and as much as possible we are background players doing a few things to facilitate the flow of emotion, but not from the point of view of controlling the dog. So I’m trying to isolate the various components of the dog’s mind so that I can independently work on one aspect at a time and strengthen this faculty, and then in a critical moment it all comes together within the dog’s mind. This is important because a behavior arrived at in this way is far more reliable and better yet, works when we’re not around, and therefore, we don’t have to control the dog to do what we want. The dog feels in control by doing what we want.

Yep, a concept I can get behind, under and all around! It was so stressful trying to control my dogs, even when all I had was Bodie. I’ve always been impressed by well-behaved dogs but not so much with the means-to-the-end; just didn’t suit. NDT is a much better fit for me (like pajama jeans…relaxed, comfy, roomy but form-fitting all in one neat package! lol)

the role of the third dog intrests me. it reminds me when 2 dogs are roughousing in my yard and my dog runs around them barking up a storm. i jokingly tell people that she is the referee. its almost like this dog is running interference so that the tension bounces around so it doesn’t get stuck.

My interpretation is that the tan pit bull is trying to bring this intense energy to ground, her fighting drive is getting excited and she is driven to get to the eyes of the dogs expressing energy. It’s like someone flashing a lot of money around and observers feel compelled to get access to it. She’s not acting as a referee from her point of view, there’s ungrounded energy (intense rumblings by the rotty cross and the sable GSD is a whole male) in play and she’s trying to gain access.

so if i understand, the pit is trying to tap into the connection between the rotty and sable? also in this paticular case would the pit attempting to connect provide more stability to the sable or would tend to unstablize him ?

She’s interrupting the flow between them, she wants access to the energy that’s being generated, which is why she’s getting in their face, the eyes (negative) equalling access to the positive (the body). In one way her interruptions keep the dogs from getting too high in drive and so keeps a lid on their aggression, but the sable GSD at this point seems able to completely absorb (on his input cycle) the charge of the Rotty, as well as the pit female, so I don’t think she’s being particularly helpful. He’s getting sensualized by the pressure rather than destabilized. So in general she’s keeping their interaction from being able to elaborate into a feeling.

why when most dogs meet and greet, do they not all get carried away with trying to elaborate into a feeling , why do the rest of the dogs not join in in this clip to create a group feeling which im sure in the wild would lead to the start of a hunt,

Can these actions seen in the clip become the momentum to ultimately lead to the hunt , are can the feeling created be enough to satisfy them, thanks

It depends on what time frame we consider. We can in this particular moment on film we can see the beginning of a feeling (wave function) beginning to emerge, i.e. the intense spikes of outburst generated by the Rotty are being absorbed by the sable GSD so that the Rotty feels its projection of energy has impact, and thus it feels control. It puts out energy and the other dog absorbs the force and becomes even more conductive (because the sable is feeling aroused (hunger) rather than sensations (balance/fear). So these spikes if we were to be recording them on a graph, we would see the peaks and troughs as an emerging wave pattern. I have no doubt that were these three dogs to live together long enough, the group mind as implemented by the principle of emotional conductivity, would encompass each dog as complementary slices (feelings) of the whole and they would do all things in syncopation.
In the very short term however what keeps dogs from right off the bat getting swept away by a feeling is the fear of falling, which is why the term “swept away” is so apt. The sable dog advances on the Rotty and this knocks him off balance and so he lashes out, especially since the sable is a whole male (more energy = stronger force of displacement). This intense outpouring of energy displaces the pit as well, but it’s not directed at her, and her nature is also so strong, that she is aroused by it and inserts herself into the dynamic (her fear sensations due to the extent she is concerned about falling, are simultaneously targeting the other dog’s eyes).
So in the overall, given the nature of the canine makeup, they are attracted to each other with a force that is too strong to be consummated by simple companionship and play (especially when we’re talking about dogs with strong temperament). But as these spikes of intensity are smoothed out, we can see how over the long term, the fear of falling, or balance issue, becomes a tuning device. Eventually their frustrations will be projected onto a common object of resistance so that they can each get past the balance problem factor. This then as a syncopated whole will become the ultimate wave function wherein each can invest their last .01% and attain wholeness by aligning and synchronizing their actions in a collective fashion. In the short term the balance circuitry keeps them frustrated, but in the long term it tunes them into a group.